Macaroni and cheese occupies a special place in the American heart as the ultimate comfort food. To tell you the truth, when I moved here from Italy and found out that people were so crazy about this abomination in a box, I thought you guys were all a bit eccentric. Really – why would you want your (processed, powdered) cheese to be orange? Anyhow, I didn’t think it was a big deal. I have my own issues with junk food – namely, digging into the Nutella jar when under pressure.
Of course, when my children came back from school demanding Mac & Cheese, I went from mildly entertained to outraged (after all, I spend hours canning made-from-scratch tomato sauce!). I tried to lecture them about the superiority of fresh ingredients, the importance of vegetables, blah blah blah, but they ignored me. I needed a better strategy. Here is how I gained back my cool factor.
Meet Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi, the Italian ancestor of Mac & Cheese. While it’s probably terrible for you (I can’t imagine another dish that packs in as much butterfat), at least this homemade recipe does not include any chemicals, plus it tastes infinitely better than Kraft’s packaged version. You might still end up needing a bypass, but at least you’ll have enjoyed getting there!
INGREDIENTS (serves 6 or even 8 as it’s sinfully rich)
- 1 package (1 lb) rigatoni or penne pasta (I like Garofalo, De Cecco and Barilla)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream + 1/2 cup milk (if you feel too guilty, just 1 cup whole milk)
- 1/2 cup blue cheese (or a sharp and creamy cheese like Brie, Camembert) shredded or cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup taleggio (or Fontina, Asiago, Gouda), shredded or cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, Emmenthal or Gruyere, shredded or cubed
- 1/3 cup Parmigiano, Grana or Parmigianito, freshly grated, plus more for topping
- Black pepper
(***if you keep kosher, here are some great kosher cheeses available in the US. The site specifies each cheese’s kosher certification, since we often joke that “Two Jews, three opinions” and do not always share the same standards: http://www.kcheese.com/ )
DIRECTIONS
Bring water to a boil and add salt.
Heat the milk in a saucepan; add cream and the cheeses to the hot milk and stir continuously, until all the cheeses are melted together. If you like living dangerously, you can even add 1 tablespoon butter.
When the water boils, add some coarse salt, add the pasta and cook it until al dente, according to the directions on the box. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water and drain the pasta.
Wonderful! I always throw different cheeses in my Mac and Cheese too. The blue cheese especially adds a tangy flavor that makes it really special and sophisticated, even for this humble dish. Have to confess I used to like the powder stuff, when my grandma made it. But this really is so much better.
I love this! My kids are huge mac and cheese fans. I’ve never added taleggio or blue cheese to the mix. Will have to try it soon!
This dish was most likely invented in order to recycle leftover chunks of cheese, and it’s OK to experiment with different types… but it turns out best when the four cheese have different textures, from creamy/nutty to sharp to aged/dry. To keep it Italian-tasting, just avoid the super-processed stuff like cream cheese and of course cheese-whiz
I guess they didn’t recycle old bread — bread crumbs make a great topping!
This may be too rich for my blodd, but I like the idea of adding blue cheese to a pasta and cheese dish, not sure why I never thought of that.
Blue Cheese! Awesome! This is definitely no ordinary Mac and Cheese.
Can I come for dinner so I can taste this?! Moments like this make me wish my kitchen wasn’t dairy free.
Your version is so much better than most…especially adding delicious taleggio.
Mac n cheese taken to a whole new level!
My daughters requested Mac and cheese tonight for dinner. They shall have it, but my husband and I will be having THIS.
Oh I go through that with my kids!
I can lecture them for hours but when they crave one of those horribly unhealthy meals there is no talking them out of it but I do try to keep these meals far from each other..like once a year lol
P.S. thank you for stopping by my blog so that I can discover yours. Your pictures are breath taking and I can’t wait to follow your upcoming posts